# Precursor handheld by Crowd Supply

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/precursor/

9 people recommended Precursor handheld by Crowd Supply in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 10 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as the most open personal computing device, with open software and schematics. Critics note many components are not open and it is niche.

Summary written by Claude from 22 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 21 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Fully open software and schematics (5 comments in the sample): "Precursor is the most open personal computing device that can be built currently." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46044674)) "You can also get a Precursor, which is open hardware." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47098807)) "are actually 100% open software and schematics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46044654))

## What people warn about

- Many components still not open (1 comment in the sample): "Precursor goes far, but definitely not as far as currently possible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46044738))
- Niche, not mature for daily use (1 comment in the sample): "they are not mature enough to daily drive just yet IMO" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45877043))

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/precursor)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Precursor handheld by Crowd Supply", https://hackerapproved.com/p/precursor/ (9 recommend, 2 mixed, 5 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.